Pitkin County salutes local non-profits during Colorado Non-Profit week, March 11th to 15 with the announcement of the recipients of the Healthy Community Fund Grants for 2013. Colorado Non-Profit Week is a statewide celebration of all the good work that non-profits do for the people of Colorado. It is a time for Pitkin County residents to honor, praise and publicize the broad impact of non-profits’ work in our valley. It is also a time to thank board members, volunteers and staff who work so hard year-round to make a positive difference.

Pitkin County is also pleased to announce the non-profit recipients of the 2013 Healthy Community Fund grant program. Thanks to the strong support of the voters of Pitkin County who supported the dedicated property tax which finances the Healthy Community Fund, the 2013 grant program will distribute $1,817,295 to 69 health & human service and community non-profit programs. These grants provide support for programs serving children, families, adults, and seniors. Some of the activities receiving funding this year support the safety and well-being of children and families, victims of domestic violence, mental health counseling, drug and alcohol prevention and treatment programs, public health services, programs for seniors, and efforts that conserve a healthy environment.

“The agencies and services that benefit from the financial support of the Healthy Community Fund touch the lives of hundreds, maybe thousands, of residents every day,” said Nan Sundeen, Director of Health & Human Services for Pitkin County. “Our recent community survey demonstrates the high value that Pitkin County residents place on health & human services. Pitkin County is delighted to help salute the dedicated staff and volunteers of all our local non-profits as we work together toward our goal of a healthy community. County government could never provide this broad range of community services without our non-profit partners.”

A complete list of grant recipients is attached. Grant checks will be mailed in March.

2013 Grant Recipients

Pitkin County Healthy Community Fund

Agency

Grant Amount

Activities supported by Grant

Access Roaring Fork

$5,000

This grant will support the Second Shift After School Program, which is one of the three programs provided by ARF.

ACES: Aspen Center for Environmental Studies

$8,000

Provides operating support for ACES to continue offering its core programs. This year, ACES will utilize approximately 30 full-time equivalent employees to share the skills needed to be actively involved in the careful stewardship of our local environment, accomplishing this through hands-on work to protect and restore the balance of ecosystems.

Alpine Legal Services

$20,000

Offer programs that provide legal assistance to crime victims, seniors, residents of affordable housing and others who cannot access the legal system because of financial need or other challenge who live and/or work in Pitkin County.

Andy Zanca Youth Empowerment Program

$3,500

Help continue to teach youth radio broadcasting and develop leadership, multiculturalism and identity among participants.

Aspen Camp of Deaf & Hard of Hearing

$6,000

ACD’s services are designed to remove deafness as a barrier to achievement. This grant will provide safe, high-quality experiences that support educational, emotional, social and recreational growth.

Ensure a safe, fun and memorable evening for Aspen High School Graduates.

Aspen Homeless Shelter

$22,500

Provides general operating support for the Aspen Homeless Shelter programs including the Day Center, the Evening Program, and the Winter Overnight Shelter.

The Aspen Hope Center , a project of the Aspen Valley Medical Foundation

$18,000

Grant funding from Pitkin County will provide for operating expenses for these important mental health services, including crisis intervention and community education on suicide prevention, for people living and working in Pitkin County.

Aspen to Parachute Dental Health Alliance

$20,000

The funds would primarily be designated for the salaries for the Regional Oral Health Consultant and the Oral Health Outreach Coordinator, for contract labor (dental hygienists, grant writer), and for supplies for oral health screenings and treatment.

Aspen Public Radio

$7,000

Continued funding will ensure that Aspen Public Radio will continue to serve Aspen and neighboring communities with the best of local, regional, national, and international public radio programming via FM broadcast, channel 8, podcast, and the Internet.

Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club

$12,500

Provide character-building outdoor winter sports programs and scholarship support to over 2,000 children and adolescents in the Roaring Fork Valley.

Aspen Youth Center

$18,000

Provide enriching after school, summer and outreach programs for youth in the Roaring Fork Valley

Basalt High School Project Graduation

$500

Help provide a safe, drug and alcohol free, fun evening for the Basalt High School graduating seniors of 2013.

The Buddy Program

$30,000

Grant funding will support the five programs serving youth: the community program, school-based, peer-to-peer programs, experiential group mentoring, and Lemonade Day.

Catholic Charities

$15,000

Provide direct financial assistance, short-term case management, and referrals to prevent homelessness and hardship for low income and at-risk individuals and families.

Challenge Aspen

$7,000

Financial support will allow Challenge Aspen to adequately respond to the increased demand for our programming and services for people with disabilities.

Colorado Fourteeners Initiative

$4,000

Grant funding will support operating costs involving hiring two crew leaders for summer service projects on Maroon and North Maroon Peaks.

Colorado Mountain College Go2Work Programs

$3,000

Funding will provide Go2Workshops for displaced and incumbent workers, with emphasis on basic skills enhancement and career skills.

The monies will be used to specifically help offset the cost of serving uninsured patients from Pitkin County. The FY2012 hospital write-off for Pitkin County was $124,088.84.

Community Health Services, Inc.

$320,000

Funding will support the existing programs, as well as, the activities needed to meet the new mandates for CHS as the designated public health agency for Pitkin County.

Emergency Assistance Fund for Pitkin County

$40,000

Funding supports the Emergency Services Fund for Pitkin County residents in need of assistance with rent and/or shelter, food vouchers, dental/medical support, limited prescription assistance for those awaiting Medicaid approval or not eligible.

English in Action

$15,000

Grant will support program services to help immigrants learn English, strengthen services, allow agency to meet strategic objectives and serve more of the students on its waiting list. Specifically, EIA anticipates growing its number of participants served annually from 230 to 290.

Executive Service Corps

$3,500

Funding will support their annual operations. ESC management assistance is available to any and all nonprofits from Aspen to Rifle.

Family Visitor Programs

$70,000

Grant request to support in-home support and education services focused on the young child that can begin prenatally and last for the first year, for families who live and work in Pitkin County.

Feed My Sheep Ministry

$4,000

FMS has operated for 9 years serving the homeless and less fortunate. Through funding, their doors are able to stay open day and night except for three hours during the day, giving staff time to restock the Center. Without the Winter Overnight Program many lives would be at risk.

Food Bank of the Rockies

$5,000

Grant funding will assist with operating support to help FBR meet their mission of ending hunger by procuring and distributing food through agencies in Northern Colorado, The Western Slope and Metro Denver.

Forest Conservancy

$13,000

Grant funding will maintain current volunteer operations, as well as, enable the Forest Conservancy to expand its work of providing value-added services, which ensure forest health, recreational quality and safety, and meaningful forest conservation education activities.

Friends of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center

$7,000

The $7,000 that was requested will cover about 25% of the costs of the forecasting and education program.

GrassRoots TV

$21,000

This grant enables GrassRoots to exist and offer individuals and organizations low cost access to broadcast quality production and distribution services. It helps to assure they can cover overhead: rent, utilities, insurance, technical support, accounting, and supplies.

HomeCare and Hospice of the Valley

$40,000

Grant funding helps to support the non-reimbursable Bereavement program, as well as the Medicare/Medicaid certified home health services, which include the Medicaid waiver programs for technology-depended children and adults with disabilities unable to work.

Independence Pass Foundation

$18,000

Grant funding will go towards: 1.Creating a safer, more educational and more hospitable Summit Area Overlook and Rest Stop, 2. Recontouring and revegetating the Upper Lost Man (Linkins Lake) Trailhead, 3. Continuing work on Ghost Town Trail including forest health and recreational development projects, and 4. Redeveloping the Lake Creek Trailhead.

KDNK: Carbondale Community Access Radio

$7,000

General operating support for KDNK community radio.

LIFT-UP

$1,500

The funding from these grants would allow LIFT-UP to keep its food pantries' shelves in Aspen and Basalt stocked all year long to serve 100% of clients with food assistance, promoting self-sufficiency.

The Manaus Fund / The Valley Settlement

$15,000

This grant request will support the work of one community organizer and one neighborhood navigator to identify and connect low income families who work in Pitkin County to available services needed to improve school readiness and school achievement and family economic stability.

Mountain Family Health Centers

$40,000

MFHC requested funds for general operating support at the Basalt satellite clinic for the provision of primary care to Pitkin County and City of Aspen residents and workers, particularly those who are under- or uninsured.

Mountain Rescue Aspen, Inc.

$8,000

Grant monies will be used to: a) support team trainings and continuing education. b) Technical gear replacement (ropes, climbing medical supplies) and c) General Working Capital such as office supplies, utilities and general administrative expenses.

Mountain Valley Developmental Services

$70,000

Mountain Valley serves children and adults with developmental disabilities and provides comprehensive supports to the families. Programs offer a depth of service and include residential, enrichment, employment, and medical services, as well as children's programs, an early intervention program, and family support and services program.

Mpower

$3,000

Funding will go towards general operating support. Mpower partners with five high schools to run Momentum, an implementation of Reconnecting Youth (RY-Model), a science-based student support program designed as a semester-long substance abuse, dropout, and suicide prevention class for at-risk high school students.

The Neighborhood Clinic at Woody Creek

$15,000

The money will support the financing of the clinic, specifically program administration, assisted referrals, assessment supplies and education materials, promotion and outreach.

Pauline S. Schneegas Wildlife Foundation

$3,000

It will help PSSS Wildlife Foundation, the only facility of its kind on the Western Slope, rehabilitate and return injured/orphaned wildlife to the wild.

Peak Parent Center

$10,000

The goal of the proposed project for funding is to build on PEAK's past work in the Roaring Fork Valley by working collaboratively with Valley Life for All and other local individuals and groups. In addition, the program seeks to complement what has already been done by increasing the community's knowledge about and implementation of person-centered practices with a particular focus on building circles of support.

Pitkin County Human Services, Adult and Family Services

$25,000

Grant funding will support evidenced-based, best practice approaches to promote prevention and intervention that promote safety, permanency and well-being for children - specifically, to begin a Collaborative Management Program, and to implement Team Decision Making Meetings.

A general operating grant from Pitkin County will support the overall cost of running the Glenwood Springs Health Center, which offers a sliding fee scale and the Clients in Need subsidy fund in order serve a high-need community.

Reach Out and Read Colorado

$2,000

Funding will support the purchase of new books that go to children during each well-child visit and the role of Regional Coordinator, who works with clinics to ensure program quality by conducting an annual on-site quality assurance visit.

RESPONSE

$35,000

RESPONSE respectfully requests funding for overall support of its staff, volunteers, and essential community-core services that provide prevention of and assistance with domestic violence and sexual assault.

River Bridge Regional Center

$10,000

Request is to assist in providing collaborative services to child abuse victims and their families in a supportive environment that reduces trauma and promotes dignity, justice and healing. RBRC also provides community-based child abuse prevention and education.

Pitkin County funding will be used for general operating support for the Roaring Fork Family Resource Centers, particularly for the Student Health and Well-Being program.

Roaring Fork Leadership

$2,500

Roaring Fork Leadership develops leaders for the community. Long term, this transformation generates community improvement through increased civic leadership.

Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers

$14,000

General operations funding for programs that promote stewardship of public lands by creating volunteer opportunities for trail work and conservation projects.

Roaring Fork School Health Centers

$15,000

RFSHC provides accessible and affordable preventive and primary health care, behavioral health services and education to the students of the Basalt Schools. The additional funding for this year will ensure the sustainability of the Bilingual Mental Health program through funding the Coordinator position.

Program provides books and engages preschool-age children in daily book sharing activities with parents to foster early literacy skills critical for school and life success.

Shining Stars Foundation

$6,000

A partnership grant will support the Foundation's services to children with cancer and life threatening diseases and allow an increase in outreach education programs to school districts.

Sopris Therapy Services

$9,000

Rehabilitation services for un-insured, under-insured, and limited income children and adults living or working in Aspen/Pitkin County with special needs who require services not met by other programs.

Spellbinders

$3,000

Spellbinders work supports the literacy building efforts of Valley school teachers and strengthens community by building strong, long-term bonds between Valley elders and schoolchildren.

Thompson Divide Coalition

$5,000

The Thompson Divide Coalition would like to engage a consultant to conduct a defensible and all-encompassing economic analysis report that considers recreational industries, agricultural and ranching enterprise, and other uses of the TD area.

Valley Life for All

$10,000

VLFA provides opportunities for people with disabilities to lead fulfilling lives and become respected and contributing members of our community. Plans for this coming year include a focus on housing through collaborative work groups, a local leadership program through our continued partnership with PEAK Parenting and the Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council, and attitudes/awareness through community outreach.

Valley Partnership for Drug Prevention

$38,100

All funds received from Pitkin County will go towards the general operating expenses of VPDP for the purpose of providing prevention education and programming to the residents of the city and county.

Wilderness Workshop

$9,000

This grant will support 3 service delivery goals: 1. prevent, delay or minimize drilling and development of the Thompson Divide; 2. Minimize the impacts of oil & gas development to Pitkin County and the region; 3. Collect baseline data to provide an early-warning system of adverse impacts to the environment and population of Pitkin County and the wider region.

The grant will help with operating expenses. The majority of this agency’s contributions are for services to patients.

YouthEntity

$5,000

This money will support real-world learning experiences for over 260 youth that are educated in Pitkin County for the 12/13 academic year. By providing students with real-world learning experiences that connect them to community and future professions, they can develop a vision for themselves outside of school.

YouthZone

$45,000

YZ provides prevention and intervention programs to youth and their families in order to remove youth from the juvenile justice system and prevent them from entering the juvenile justice system. Over ten programs provide the menu of services that YZ can offer youth and families.